“An Assyrian is swarmed by several Kurds, and beaten to death”, “Iraqi gangs in
the capital are terrorizing the Assyrian locals…” These have become usual and
sometimes daily headlines for Assyrians lately. Now you wonder to yourself: are
these isolated incidents, or is it something we should pay more attention to?
Should they be a wake-up call for all Assyrians? You can take it as you want,
but the fact of the matter is, Kurds and Arabs have greatly outpaced us in terms
of human growth and over-population. The ratio keeps widening, as for every
Assyrian born in Iraq, you have some 4 Kurds or Arabs born at the same time. Why
lag behind them? Why not reach their numbers and even outpace them?

The stories told at the beginning of this article are a clear indication that
being a minority is making us a prey in the hands of others. It is not about our
history with these groups. It goes far beyond that. It is about basic human
survival and human nature. Being a minority usually, although not always, breeds
weakness. You think a Kurd or an Arab would dare to violate our rights or
terrorize our people, had we been the majority? Highly unlikely. Therefore, our
equation can’t be any simpler than this: more people will ensure better chances
of survivals for our nation. Based on that, Assyrian parents should start having
more and more sex. Sex not for the purpose of enjoyment only, but to actually
populate the nation.

More Babies

The argument, like already stated, is plain and simple: when it comes to our
chances of survival and success in the future, more is better. Given how long
Assyrians have been on this earth, and given their rich history, their
population is extremely small and tiny, compared to the newest of nations and
civilizations. Of course, there is a lot of factors to account for this small
number, including the various genocides committed against them. But still,
Assyrians just haven’t kept pace lately. Assyrians of the past, weren’t bad at
all when it came to having children. The average sometimes reached as high as
five or even six children per family. But as the twentieth and twenty first
centuries progressed, there has been a steady decline. Although no official
stats or data can back these claims, it is estimated, based on church and other
organizational records, that the average Assyrian family is in general having
less children than they did one hundred years ago. This is quiet alarming and
should also be a source of concern. The solution for all of this certainly, is
to encourage Assyrian families to have more babies, preferably three on the
least.

Three-Child Policy

If we look at China as an example, they have done a pretty good job in inflating
their population. Their population has grown so much out of control, the
government had to finally step in and introduce the controversial ‘One Child
Policy.’ What this new policy sought to achieve, was to basically encourage and
sometimes force Chinese families to beget no more than one child. Failing to do
so, would result in the family not getting any or much social and welfare
assistance from the government. All for the purpose of keeping the population
under control, and preventing it from growing beyond the power of the government
and what the land and resources can provide for. We are by no means setting
China as our example. However, China is a very interesting case in how a
government or any higher authority can step in and somehow control the
population growth. Whereas China is trying to limit its population growth with
their ‘one child’ policy, we should use that same policy, but in an opposite
direction; to encourage population growth, with three being the minimum average
to aim for. The normal average should be four children per family, and five as
something to aim for, given proper financial resources. But people may be
wondering about all this need for more people and a bigger population? Bigger
doesn’t always mean better, right? Well in this case, it does, and here is why.

For the Sake of Survival

Compared to Kurds, and Arabs, we are an extreme minority. This is true for every
country in the Middle East, where there exists a significant number of
Assyrians. In Iraq for example, the population is about 25 million as of 2002.
Of that, some 17 million are Arabs, some 6.5 million being Kurds, and the rest
being a mix of Assyrians (including Chaldeans and other affiliated groups),
Turkmens, Armenians etc. These numbers tell the full story. And given this
extreme disparity in populations, it is no wonder that we have always been the
scapegoat in Iraq. Whether people agree or not, had our population been equal or
larger than that of the Arabs and Kurds, we wouldn’t face the problems and
prosecutions we do now. Of course, Iraq’s history is violent as it is, and
minority or majority, wouldn’t make a lot of different. But, at the end of the
day, it does.

In the various Syrian towns where Assyrians are the extreme majority, it is
unusual to find Assyrians being bullied or intimidated by non-Assyrians. The
majority rules, and has no fear. Whereas in a place like Baghdad, where the
Assyrian population continues to dwindle, Assyrians are fighting for their lives
everyday. The same goes for a lot of places in the North. If we had had more
sex, and kept pace with the Kurds, they wouldn’t be ruling us as they do today.
Once violent, always violent, but when you are not the majority, you have more
to worry about. Beside our basic human survival, a bigger population would give
our language a far better chance of survival. How does a language become
extinct? When fewer and fewer people speak it and use, to the point of virtual
extinction. So instead of having one million people speaking our language, we
could have 5 million speaking it in 10 years from now, and thus having a much
better hope of endurance and even flourishing.

Financing the Population Initiatives

Granted, it is easier said than done. Just who will pay these parents the money
needed to feed all the extra children, that they would otherwise not be able to
feed? Who will finance all the extra costs associated with having more babies?
And for what? Just to populate a nation? ‘what is in it for me personally…?' an
Assyrian parent might wonder. Well, this indeed is a massive undertaking. You
are looking at putting some five million Assyrians on earth, specifically in the
Middle East, in the next five to ten years. To begin with, every new Assyrian
born in the Middle East, should be subsidized with a one-time payment of $1,000
to the parents. From then on, and depending on the economic well-being of the
family, the child should be given a fixed payment of $50 per month, up to age 6.
In other words, every new Assyrian child will cost us about $4,600 to raise and
feed. This will encourage people in Iraq to have more kids, and hence ensure our
survival in the region, no matter how many people migrate.

Who will pay for this? Even better, who is obliged to pay for all of this, other
than their own parents? In reality, no one is, but in good consciousness and
good Assyrianism, we all are. Assyrian organizations, such as the Assyrian Aid
Society should be one major organization to look at. Essentially, and given the
complexity and importance of such a new change in our demographics and
population, we would need an entire new organization whose sole purpose would be
to oversee the operation, funding and maintenance of this human growth
initiative. The call to grow at an almost logarithmic scale, doesn’t have to
cost us as it much as it may sound. To cost only $4,600 to raise a child from
infancy to his first year in school, is a bargain. It is not our
purpose to put a price on the child of a new born Assyrian child, but
economically speaking, numbers tell us some interesting facts. Again,
unrealistic numbers, but can be obtained with the proper funding from the
various Assyrian organizations and even foreign humanitarian agencies.

It is not as Easy as it may Seem or Sound

If the project was to actually start, who is to guarantee that the funding will
continue to come? Moreover, does this huge increase in our population guarantee
anything for us? These and many more questions, can not be answered in a day and
night. They will take the will, cooperation and resolve of virtually every
Assyrian, to answer these questions and bring the expected results. Others may
question the very need for such a project, at this critical juncture in history,
when we need our energy and resources to focus on other more important issues.
Well, this is an important issue, the issue of our continually dwindling
population. And finally, some may question the very notion of ‘a bigger
population will breed success and a bigger chance of survival’ citing many
examples from history, where this may not always be the case. History may not
perfectly be on our side, but it is not too hard to realize that 10 million
Assyrians is better than 2 million. For one, out of these 10 million, we will
generally have more educated people, who in turn will grow to take the lead.

The Time is Now, not Tomorrow

The best time to start this plan, is now, not tomorrow or the day after
tomorrow. Any day that passes by, is not in our interest. Judging by the way
things are shaping up in the Middle East, creating a bigger and better
population, is one of our few assurances for a better future. We need to find
ways of not only growing the population, but of growing a smart population. As
part of the financing proposed earlier, for every new Assyrian born, part of the
money should go to their education. Every Assyrian kid should be provided with
the best education possible. Now combine a large population with a great
education, you get a bright future on the other side of the equation. Naturally,
this won’t only be for the sake of Assyria and its future. It is also a great
thing for Assyrian families. After all, who doesn’t like to have a good, big and
healthy family? Putting the energy and resources to make this project a success,
are well worth it. There will come a day, when several Kurds will not be
attacking a lone Assyrian. Rather, there will come a day when all Kurds and
Arabs will pay
great respect to Assyrians, given their new rising power and influence in the
region.